OSU Wrestling: Two Top Recruiting Targets for the Class of 2020

Cowboy wrestling is in a pretty good recruiting position currently to build a future lineup that’ll be tough for many other teams to contend with. They already have Daton Fix and Kaden Gfeller on the roster, who were two big time 2017 recruits and will be the future of the OSU lower weights.

They also bring in answers for 174 pounds and 184 pounds next year with Travis Wittlake Jr. and Anthony Montalvo and have an elite heavyweight in Daniel Kerkvliet Jr. coming in. Fix, Wittlake, and Kerkvliet are true blue chip recruits. Gfeller was rated as the #1 redshirt this season with Montalvo ranked as the #5 prospect at 184. That’s a very good group, but there will still possibly be holes.

If you look at the composition of a lot of good teams they typically have a stacked room of stars lined up across similar weights. For example, over the last few years, Penn State has had some hammers from 149-184 and that’s been the nucleus of their last few titles. So with OSU you want to see them find blue chips for 165 and 197 to fill out that lineup from 165 up to heavyweight and develop that similar room of a bunch of guys that can really push each other.

Here are the answers.

197 pounds: AJ Ferrari | Allen, TX

Ferrari is a beast. We’ve touched on him in spots. If you just search “AJ Ferrari” on the main page of the site you’ll find a lot on him. The kid is very good and depending on what recruiting site you’re looking at is ranked as either the top or No. 2 overall recruit in the 2020 class. He’ll be a clear No. 1 at his weight class which most project to be 197. He wrestled at 182 this year some and eventually went up to 195. He’s a big kid but not big enough to be a 285. He’ll almost certainly be a career 197 in college which works perfect for the Cowboys. You could really go on all day about his credentials in the sport to this point in his career. OSU’s the top nearby program and you have to hope he decides to stay close to home.

Finished off the week with a max on barbell #benchpress of 290lb pic.twitter.com/AnGytV3fnE

— AJ Ferrari (@mrfasttwitch) May 5, 2018

Something I’ve found interesting about him is the way he markets himself on social media. In interviews he seems to be a really well spoken kid and if you follow him on Twitter he does a good job of showcasing his training and updating his accomplishments, tournament wins, and that sort of thing. He even set up a YouTube page featuring a lot of his matches and interviews.

The cool thing to me is he really takes you through the entire process with the sport, showcasing not only his wins, but his training and that sort of thing, which is something that to me is often missed in wrestling. The grind to get to the level that he is at is often as intriguing as the actual matches, so it’s pretty cool to see a young kid that seems to “get” that and put it on display.

I’d be lying if I said these tweets the other day didn’t jump out at me.

Another thing to add is he comes from a wrestling family. Similar to the Smiths’, the Rosholts’, the Briscos’, the Rogers’, the Marsdens’ and all the other families that have come through OSU, he could be the start of another family legacy for Cowboy wrestling. His younger brother Anthony was Texas Wrestler of the Week this week winning a Freestyle state title where he didn’t give up a point in a tournament against a bunch of kids older than him. It really could be a program changing get to land him because it likely sets up for a few other big recruits to come right in after him.

165 pounds: Dustin Plott | Tuttle, Ok

I’ll let Flo say it for me. “Plott is the truth.”

Dustin Plott is the truth.

The high school sophomore takes out Ohio State's Kaleb Romero. pic.twitter.com/gOcD6ItIQA

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) April 27, 2018

Plott finished second at the US Open a few weeks ago wrestling as a Junior. That means as a high school sophomore, he went to a tournament with some of the best college freshman in the country and nearly won the entire tournament. That’s big time.

There’s no concern with this kid’s wrestling ability. He’s a true blue-chip recruit that will be a force at the D1-level in a few years. The concern is his size. He wrestles at 160 this year which if he doesn’t grow a lot by the end of high school is perfect as he would slot in really well at 165 for the Cowboys in a few years. As just a sophomore though he could take off and grow if he does it could create issues with his size fit. Flo has him projected at 174. As I noted Wittlake’s going to be the guy the next few years at 174 probably with Montalvo at 184, so if Plott grows up to their size it potentially leaves a year where one of these guys is out of the lineup.

Ideally, Plott could be a 165 for a year or so then maybe make a move up once Wittlake/Montalvo graduate. Even if Plott does look like he’ll wind up the same weight as these guys I still think you go after him and try to find a way to get him in the lineup. You can’t miss out on this level of local talent.